Reactions to the Chicago Bears’ dominant victory over the Rams and why it matters

The Chicago Bears defeated the Rams in stunning fashion, slowing the NFL’s most complete offense to just two field goals in the 15-6 win. The Bears won this game not only on the scoreboard, but in just about every stat category possible. This was a marquee win for a Bears team that has had its doubters, but no one can question how well the Bears played in primetime on Sunday night.

The Bears allowed the Rams to score only six points, keeping the offense to under 20 points for the first time this season. The Bears only allowed the Rams to pick up 214 total yards, also their worst mark of the season.

Possibly most shocking of all though, was the way the Bears were able to stop Todd Gurley dead in his tracks in this game. Gurley led the NFL in both rushing yards and rushing touchdowns entering this game. Against the Monsters of the Midway, Gurley managed only 28 yards on 11 carries and could not manage to find the end zone once.

In what was likely the Rams worst game in the Sean McVay era, the Bears got their most significant win of the Matt Nagy era.

Nagy’s play calling has been a masterpiece all season, and tonight was no different. On a play from the two yard line, Nagy sent out possibly the strangest offensive set in the history of the NFL. While Mitch Trubisky lined up under center, he was surrounded by only lineman. Six offensive lineman and four defensive lineman surrounded him in an (extremely) heavy set. Trubisky faked the handoff to defensive lineman and fullback extraordinaire Akiem Hicks, and rolled out to his right before delivering a picture perfect toss to offensive lineman Bradley Sowell for the only touchdown of the defensive slugfest.

Hicks not only provided on the offensive side of the ball, but was arguably the player of the game on defense. Hicks posted three tackles as well as one sack, all while wreaking havoc on Jared Goff’s pocket all night. His sack came on the most important drive of the game, driving Goff into the turf on a crucial fourth down in the fourth quarter to squander any chance of the Rams scoring and gaining momentum. Hicks also was there with Eddie Goldman to bring down Jared Goff in his own end zone for a safety.

Goff had his worst night of the season and posted his worst numbers of the season in passing yards (180), interceptions (4), and completion percentage (45%). The Bears pressure forced Goff to never gain comfortability. He was sacked three times on the night. Much of this can be attributed to the complete termination of a running game by the Bears defense. The Rams’ high flying offense relies on their ability to use the play action to spread defenses out. Without the threat of Gurley coming out of the backfield, Goff had little-to-no chance of mustering any offensive rhythm.

The Bears league leading defense added to their league best turnover totals, compiling four more interceptions to their season totals. Bringing their numbers on the season to 25 interceptions and 34 total turnovers. The next best team is the Rams, who have 25 total takeaways.

The Bears running game had their best game of the season tonight as well. As a team, the Bears managed 194 yards on the ground. Jordan Howard had his best game of the season with 101 yards on 19 carries. Swiss army knife Tarik Cohen added 69 more yards on nine carries.

The Bears proved on a national stage that they are no rollover. After this performance, there will not be a team in the NFL that will want to play Chicago come postseason time. In Solider Field, the Bears proved they can beat any team in the league. That is why shifting their focus for the rest of the season to obtaining a first round bye and home field advantage in the playoffs will be so important for Nagy’s squad. They will need to win their remaining games against the Packers, 49ers and Vikings to do so, along with getting some help via losses by the Rams and the Saints. The Rams and/or the Saints losing two of their remaining three games is unlikely, but with this win, the Bears hopes of a bye are still very much alive and in the forefront of the minds of Sean Payton and Sean McVay. The Monsters of the Midway are back and rolling, and they will be a force to be reckoned with for as long as they’re still hanging around this season.